1951 Baylor Bears football team

The 1951 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1951 college football season. Led by second-year head coach George Sauer, the Bears compiled an overall record of 8–2–1 with a mark of 4–1–1 in conference play, placing second in the SWC. They were ranked No. 9 in both the final AP Poll and the final Coaches Poll. Baylor was invited to the Orange Bowl, where the Bears lost to Georgia Tech.

1951 Baylor Bears football
Orange Bowl, L 14–17 vs. Georgia Tech
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 9
Record	8–2–1 (4–1–1 SWC)
Head coach	George Sauer (2nd season)
Captain	Gale Galloway, Stan Williams
Home stadium	Baylor Stadium
Seasons ← 1950 1952 →

1951 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 11 TCU $	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
No. 9 Baylor	4	–	1	–	1			8	–	2	–	1
Texas	3	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Rice	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Texas A&M	1	–	3	–	2			5	–	3	–	2
Arkansas	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
SMU	1	–	4	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Four players—quarterback Larry Isbell, end Stan Williams, guard Bill Athey, and tackle Ken Casner—were recognized on the 1951 College Football All-America Team.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22	at Houston*	No. 13	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 19–0	55,000–60,000
October 6	at Tulane*	No. 19	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 27–14	40,000	^[2]
October 13	Arkansas	No. 12	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	W 9–7	25,000
October 20	Texas Tech*	No. 10	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX (rivalry)	W 40–20	22,000
October 27	at No. 16 Texas A&M	No. 7	Kyle Field College Station, TX (Battle of the Brazos)	T 21–21
November 3	TCU	No. 8	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX (rivalry)	L 7–20	37,000
November 10	at No. 10 Texas	No. 16	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	W 18–6	58,000	^[3]
November 17	Wake Forest*	No. 10	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	W 42–0	20,000
November 24	SMU	No. 10	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	W 14–13	30,000
December 1	at Rice	No. 9	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 34–13	45,000
January 1	vs. No. 6 Georgia Tech*	No. 9	Burdine Stadium Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	L 14–17	65,837	^[4]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. Baylor University, "1952 Round Up" yearbook via the Baylor University Libraries Digital Collections. Accessed April 29, 2013 http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/cdm/ref/collection/tx-annl/id/26259
2. "Isbell engineers Baylor over Tulane, 27–14". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 7, 1951. Retrieved February 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Bruin rushing rips Steers". The Austin American-Statesman. November 11, 1951. Retrieved February 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Rogers' field goal brings Tech win over Baylor". The Tampa Times. January 2, 1952. Retrieved February 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.